


remove whatever makes you hurt

by delectum



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Explosions, Gen, Hurt Keith (Voltron), Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Keith (Voltron) Whump, Team as Family, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-26
Updated: 2019-09-26
Packaged: 2020-10-28 22:20:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20785967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/delectum/pseuds/delectum
Summary: “Hey, don’t fall asleep,” Pidge blurted in a panic when she saw his eyes slipping shut yet again. “The team will be here soon.” She brushed a hand through his hair in an attempt to calm him and distract him from the pain.She wasn’t sure if it worked or not, but she kept up the soothing motion. He melted at the touch, hands scrabbling at the rubble blindly until his knuckles were white, desperate to relieve the pain. “Stay awake, alright? For me?”





	remove whatever makes you hurt

**Author's Note:**

> i just wanted to write some whump

Pidge blinked awake heavy eyes, pushing herself up onto her elbows and coughing as the settling dust clogged up her throat. It was dark, the lights extinguished by the bomb that had also torn the room apart. 

She blearily scanned the room, eyeing over the wreckage frantically until her eyes caught a flash of red on the floor. “Keith?” 

What was he doing here-? 

Oh. 

They had been together when the bomb had gone off, doing- doing _something_. She couldn’t remember now but it must not have been important anyways. She called him again, hoping desperately that he would wake up. 

The red paladin didn’t stir, causing Pidge’s heart to skip a beat in panic. “_Keith_.” She crawled over to his side, barely unable to make out his limp form on the rocky rubble littered across the floor, but terrified over how badly he could have been hurt in the explosion, without armor to protect him. 

Even in the dark, it was clear that he was paler than usual, blood spotting his blue tinged lips. His chest rose and fell with barely noticeable motion. To be sure, Pidge placed a shaky hand at his neck, allowing herself to sigh in relief when she found a weak, thready pulse. 

“Keith, wake up, please,” She shook him, trying to be gentle but too worried to feel bad as the pain startled him awake. 

He keened deep from his throat, eyelashes fluttering as he slowly came back to unconsciousness. 

“-P’dge…?” Keith mumbled, trying to get his arms under to support his weight when he saw his teammate. Almost immediately however, he cried out and crashed back down against the floor, a shaky hand coming up to cover his side protectively. 

“Keith! Where are you hurt? What’s wrong?” Pidge scanned him for any visible injuries, almost missing the dark stain of blood on his already dark shirt. She paled when she saw crimson seeping through his fingers, and grabbed his wrist to gently peel back his hand from the wound. 

Keith groaned lowly at the action, raising his head slightly to see the damage for himself. 

For a long moment, they both stared at the sharp metal shrapnel impaled right under his ribs, until Pidge turned away with a sob and vehement, “...Fuck, _Keith-_”

His head fell back down against the rubble in response, exhausted and in shock. Pidge swore again when she saw, immediately shrugging off her jacket and balling in under his head as a makeshift pillow. 

Keith shifted as he allowed her to do so, grimacing as the wound pulled and choking out a strangled, “_fuck,_ that _hurts-_“ 

“Oh god, what do I do?” Pidge’s hands hovered over the wound nervously, and she knew herself well enough to admit that she was panicking, and _bad._ “Keith, _fuck_, what do I _do_?”

In response, he grabbed onto her wrist weakly, looking like he was struggling to breathe but still pulling himself together, for _her_. “Katie, hey-,” she turned to look at him with wide, panicked eyes, “Hey, it’s gonna be okay. Just- see if the comms are working, alright?”

Pidge nodded shakily, squeezing his hand reassuringly and reaching out for the comm still in her ear from earlier. “Hello?” She called out, to be met with only static. “Shiro? Hunk? Can anyone hear me?”

No response. 

“Shiro, _please_! Anyone, please respond-!” 

She tugged at her hair in frustration, “They’re not picking up!” 

“Hey, _hey_, Pidge, calm down, okay? It’s- it’s alright.”

“_How is it alright_?” She turned to glare at him, almost close to hyperventilating with the way her breaths were coming in such sharp pants. “We’re stuck here on this stupid planet and you’re- _fuck_, Keith, you’re _hurt_!” 

“I know,” he struggled to push himself up slightly, wincing as he did, “I know, but I need you to keep a clear head right now, okay? We need to- to see if we can find a way out or something.”

Pidge closed her eyes tightly shut, pressing the palms against her eyelids until she was seeing stars. “...Okay,” she muttered, “yeah, okay. We’re gonna be fine.”

She blinked away tears, gently pressing down on Keith’s shoulder until he lying back down against the makeshift pillow. “Don’t move, okay? I don’t want it to get worse. I’m gonna go see if I can find a way out.”

It was too dark to see much, so she traced across the edges of the room with her fingers. The doors were blockaded by fallen debris, large heavy slabs of broken foundation weighing against their way out. She tried to push at them, only to give up with only an aching shoulder to show for her efforts. 

Pidge tried called out to anyone, in hopes that one of the paladins or the palace’s guards would hear and come to help. 

There was no reply, only stillness. 

She was beginning to regret ever agreeing to the queen’s stupid banquet and consequently, her offer for the paladins to stay at her palace for the night. 

Defeated, she stumbled back over to Keith’s side, unable to keep her tears at bay. “Keith?” She whispered hoarsely when she saw him lying still, eyes shut. “Hey, wake up.” 

He groaned, low and agonized, before turning his head to bury his face against the soft jacket that was pillowed under him, as if to hide from the pain. “Wha’ is it?” He mumbled into the fabric, a hand protectively curled against his side. 

Pidge squashed down the guilt she felt, knowing that if he was unconscious, he would hurt less. But the fear of him falling asleep and never waking up outweighed the regret she felt. 

“Hey, don’t fall asleep,” she blurted in a panic when she saw his eyes slipping shut yet again. He whimpered in discomfort, tears slipping down his pallid cheeks. “I’m sorry, just hang in there, okay? The team will be here soon.” She brushed a hand through his hair in an attempt to calm him or distract him from the pain. 

She wasn’t sure if it worked or not, but she kept up the soothing motion. He melted at the touch, hands scrabbling at the rubble blindly until his knuckles were white, desperate to relieve the pain. “Stay awake, alright? For me?” 

Keith sobbed, breaking her heart. “Fuck, it _hurts_.”

“I know it does, I know. God, Keith, _just please-_”

“Jus’ let me sleep,” He whimpered. “Please, I’ll wake up, I promise.” 

“_No_,” Pidge closed her eyes, unable to stomach seeing him in this much pain and yet still denying him something when he begged so desperately, “Just stay with me. I’m-“ 

She swallowed heavily, avoiding his eye, “I’m scared, okay? I don’t want to lose you.” 

“You won’t,” Keith whimpered, fumbling blindly until he grasped her hand in one of his own, “I _promise_, but it hurts, Pidge. Jus’- jus’ let me _sleep,_ please.” 

Saying no to him didn’t work, so Pidge squashed down her guilt and allowed herself to whisper in a falsely vulnerable tone, “...I’m scared you’re gonna leave me.” She was scared, it’s true, but she never would have voiced her fears aloud, and especially not to guilt someone into doing what she wanted. 

Keith sobbed in response, turning his face away from her in defeat and knowing deep down that she wouldn’t give in. Keith knew better than anyone how stubborn she could be. 

He didn’t say anything to her after that, his quiet crying echoing in the collapsed room. He was angry or upset or both, in pain and wanting nothing else except for relief against the agony blossoming along his impaled side. 

“I’m sorry, Keith,” she whispered to his heaving back, “I really am. I swear I’m not doing this to hurt you.”

When he didn’t reply, she reached out hesitantly and brushed a hand comfortingly against his shoulder. When Keith didn’t pull away, she scooted herself closer and soothed her hand against his arm. “Just wait a few more minutes, okay? Just until the team get here. If they don’t come by then-“ she swallowed back the sob threatening to burst past her throat, “I’ll let you sleep after that. Just five more minutes, okay? Can you do that for me?”

Keith didn't reply, but she can tell by his silent tears that he’s trying. For her, he’s pushing through. 

His determination took him through her time limit. When the team didn't show up, his eyes began to slip shut. 

Pidge panicked when she saw him beginning to drift off, and she jostled him awake under the pretense of changing positions. “Sorry,” she told him unapologetically when he blinked awake blearily. Keith stared at her in confusion for a long minute, before his exhaustion began to pull him back to sleep. 

“_Keith_,” She said sharply, watching as he struggled to pry his eyes open. She started to talk in an attempt to keep him alert, desperate to keep him awake. “Tell me about the last blade Mission you guys went on. Lance said a prince tried to kiss you after you saved him from an assassin.”

Just like she had feared, Keith didn’t fall for her tricks. 

He looked at her blearily, betrayal in his eyes, “...you _said _five minutes.”

“It hasn’t been five minutes yet,” she lied, hating herself for doing this. It was obvious he didn’t believe her, but he didn’t call her out on her lie. Instead, he closed his eyes lethargically, his breathing uneven and rattling worryingly. 

“Keith?” 

He coughed, dark blood splattering his pale lips but his eyes didn’t open. 

“Keith! Fuck, Keith,_ no_.” She scrambled to his side, trying to shake him awake but to no avail. “_Hey_, no, no, no, don’t fall asleep.” 

She pressed two fingers against his neck, and found his thready pulse after a long minute. 

It was obvious he wasn’t going to last much longer. 

“Oh, god, _no_. Keith, _please._”

“_P-dge…? Can… hear- me?”_

Her eyes widened and she scrambled to her feet as her comm burst with static and the voice of their leader came through in shattered fragments. “Shiro?”

She shook Keith again, trying desperately to wake him up. “Keith, it’s Shiro. He’s coming, just- hang on okay? The team is coming for us.”

He didn’t reply, didn’t even move at the sound of his friend's name. Pidge held back her tears, squeezing Keith’s cold hand in hers. 

“_Can- read… me?”_

She wiped at her wet eyes,“Yes! Yes, I read you! We’re trapped, and Keith’s hurt and bad-“

Shiro cursed, and Pidge could imagine the agitated way he would run his hand through his hair, “_How bad?” _

Keith’s previously wheezing breaths were almost inaudible now, and he was completely unresponsive. The tone of his skin was nearly sheet-white, blood loss setting in and fast. 

“He’s- he’s bleeding out, and he’s not waking up. Shiro, _hurry.”_

_“We’re on our way, but_ Pidge, _keep him awake.” _

She looked back at the crumpled form on the ground, barely breathing and bleeding through the makeshift bandage. The shrapnel was still impaled against his side, since she had been too scared to remove it with limited visibility in the dark. Despite that, his injury still bled as if it was an open wound. 

“He’s not gonna make it,” she whispered in dread, cold realization setting in, “he’s _dying.”_

“Fuck,” Shiro cursed over the comm, breath hitching. “_Fuck.”_

There was a pause as the black paladin tried to calm himself, breathing harshly over the line. When he finally spoke, his voice was wrangled and hoarse with worry, “_We’re on our way, Pidge. Hunk’s right at your location, but _please,_ I’m _begging _you- do what you can for him.” _

Pidge nodded, forgetting for a moment that he couldn’t see her, “_Hurry.” _

Shiro didn’t reply to her verbally, but she could feel Black in her head, roaring in determination. Keith was her paladin as much as he was Red’s. She turned back to Keith, kneeling by his side. He was hardly breathing now, and she could barely feel his pulse under her gloves. 

She took out her jacket from under his head, shifting over so he was pillowed on her lap instead. With one last stealing breath, she took the jacket in hand and pressed it against his wound, hard. 

Keith cried out in unconsciousness, scrabbling at her wrist in a blind attempt to push away whatever it was that was hurting him. He sobbed when she didn’t let up, even when his blood soaked through the fabric of her jacket and stained her hands. The pain roused him from his uneasy sleep, tears slipping from eyes clenched shut tight. 

“P-dge, Pidge… _stop-“_

She took one hand away from the wound, pushing it through his hair desperately to soothe him, to keep him awake, anything as long as he survived. “Hey, it’s okay, it’s going to be okay, I _promise-_“ throughout, her other hand pushed down harder, stemming the blood as best as she could. “You’re gonna be okay, _please,_ be okay-“

She pressed their foreheads together, tears slipping down her cheeks and onto his face but neither of them caring. “I’m sorry, but _please_ just _be okay.” _

When he didn’t answer, she sobbed, grasping his pale, _cold _hands and pressing her lips against the knuckles, unwilling to lose her brother _again_. “Please, _don’t do this me.”_

Vaguely, she registered a loud bang, the fallen debris of the collapsed room being pushed aside to make room for an exit. Shiro scrambled through without even bothering to scan whatever it was on the other side, forgoing her entirely and collapsing on his knees by Keith’s side. 

A heavy hand set itself down on her shoulder, turning her away from the gruesome sight of her teammate, her friend, her _brother, _limp on the floor with blood spreading underneath him. She was pulled into a tight hug, the scent of cinnamon and machine grease staining Hunk’s dusty shirt. As if from far away, she could hear Shiro cursing and then begging, pleading for Keith to come back to him. 

The collapsed room shook as one of the lions- _Red _dug a passage to the outer room, opening her maw and prompting them to stumble into her cockpit. Once they were all safety inside, she didn’t bother waiting for someone to get to the pilot seat before she was taking off to the castle. 

Shiro placed Keith down on the floor of her cargo hold, scrambling for a first aid kit and tearing through it to find a bandage or a medical pad, anything to stem the bleeding. Pidge watched through watery vision, her legs shaking so badly that she fell to the floor, shivering from shock. The heavy weight of a blanket settled across her shoulders, before Hunk was leaving her side to help Keith. 

When Red finally reached the castle, Shiro gathered Keith in his arms and ran out, leaving bloody footprints against the sleek silver of the floor. Pidge stayed where she was, numb and unable to move. She stared at the crimson dotted along the floor, until Hunk came to her and helped her up. 

She lurched from his arms and stumbled into a corner in the hangar, retching miserably as the smell of blood stung her nose and the image of Keith, lying so still and pale, assaulted her eyes. 

Hunk held back her hair, rubbing at her back to comfort her. 

She could hear him asking her, faintly, if she was hurt or if she needed a pod. She shook her head mutely in response, collapsing against his side. 

Hunk said something about shock, which she missed half of, before he was guiding her back to her room, settling her in the bed where she fell instantly into an uneasy, dreamless sleep. 

When she woke, her head pounded and her eyes were crusted from sleep. Despite that, she stumbled out of bed and forced herself through the quiet halls and to the infirmary. 

As she entered, she found Shiro, sitting vigil in front of the pods, head bowed and shoulders hunched. He looked up when he heard her coming, quiet even as she padded up and sat cautiously beside him. 

“Is he-?” She voiced hesitantly, fearing his answer. 

He didn’t turn to her when he rasped out, hands clenched tightly with distress, “He’ll be in there for a while ...But he’s gonna be okay.”

Pidge leaned against his side, and he immediately draped an arm over her shoulder and pulled her into a sideways hug. “...Is everyone else okay?”

Shiro smiled faintly. “Yeah, they are. Lance got a concussion but he was fine after we put him in the pod for a bit. He’s sleeping it off now.” He looked down, brushing a hand through her hair. “Allura was furious when she heard what had happened. She yelled at the queen for getting her paladins hurt just because some terrorists on the planet had a grudge against the queen’s laws.”

Biting her lip, Pidge averted her eyes. 

Somehow, it made it worse to know that Keith was hurt not just from a battle or a fight with the galra, but because of sheer coincidence. They had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time, victims to an unforeseen consequence of someone’s actions. That was why the bomb had caught them unaware, in their casual clothes with no weapons to break free as their rooms collapsed around them. 

It had been only luck that Pidge had been with Keith when it had happened, otherwise he wouldn’t have made it, alone and bleeding out in a collapsed room. 

“Allura is insisting we end the alliance with them, even though the queen had no idea about the attack when she offered us accommodations at her palace. I’m not really sure I agree but maybe she just needs time to get over the shock of what happened.”

They both turned to the pod where Keith was standing, his face tinged blue and blood still splattered against the torn side of his t-shirt. 

“...Thank you,” Shiro whispered, not turning to her as he said it. “He wouldn’t have made it without you.”

He pressed Pidge against his side tighter, his chin resting on her head, admitting in a low rasp, “...I wasn’t ready to live without him yet.”

She swallowed heavily, unable to get out the sight of so much blood from her mind and knowing somehow that it wouldn’t leave her even in sleep. 

“I didn’t want to lose him,” Pidge whispered, burying her head against Shiro’s shirt. It still smelled like dust and gunpowder, probably the same clothes he had been wearing when the explosion happened. 

He hugged her against his side, and together, they waited for Keith to wake.


End file.
